Every year my main message when teaching beginning teachers about behaviour management is CONSISTENCY.
This week, I’ve been dropping my child off at a holiday club being held at their primary school. I’ve been struck by how the parents of the pupils who usually attend the school have abided by the usual school rules about not using the school drive or parking their cars in the school car park. This has been in direct contrast to some parents whose children attend schools elsewhere.
The headteacher of our primary school is, rightly, very consistent in his messaging about parents not using the school drive. It is narrow, has limited turning space and, at the start and end of the school day, is used by children walking to and from school. He is regularly on gate duty and does not shy away from speaking directly with parents who ignore the rule, patiently explaining why it exists. There are also frequent reminders in newsletters outlining the importance of keeping children safe and reiterating expectations around use of the drive and car park.
The result? Even during the holidays, when the headteacher is not standing at the gate and the usual school routines are suspended, most parents continue to follow the rule. The expectation has become normalised. This is the power of consistency around ground rules and expectations.
The challenge of consistency for beginning teachers
For beginning teachers, consistency is often one of the most difficult aspects of behaviour management to master. Establishing expectations is relatively straightforward. Following through on them, every lesson, every day, with every class, is much harder.
Many beginning teachers arrive in school with understandable concerns about appearing too strict or damaging relationships with pupils. Others worry about being unfair when pupils face challenges outside school or have identified additional needs. These concerns come from a good place. Teaching is fundamentally a relational profession, and effective behaviour management is rooted in positive relationships.
But consistency and kindness are not opposites. In fact, pupils often experience consistent adults and predictable routines as fair, secure and trustworthy because they know what to expect and understand that expectations are applied reliably. This is particularly beneficial for children with SEND (NASS, n.d.).
Cowley (2024) emphasises the importance of clear boundaries, predictable routines and teachers following through consistently on expectations and consequences. They need confidence that classroom expectations mean the same thing on Monday morning as they do on Friday afternoon. They need to know that one pupil will not be treated differently from another simply because a teacher is tired, stressed or in a hurry.
This is where I often introduce beginning teachers to three related ideas: consistency, persistence and insistence.
- Consistency means clearly communicating expectations and applying them reliably.
- Persistence means continuing to reinforce those expectations even when it feels repetitive. You may feel that you have explained a routine dozens of times already. Pupils may still need another reminder.
- Insistence means calmly following through. If the school policy requires a consequence, then the consequence should be applied. If pupils are expected to enter the room silently, then teachers should insist on that expectation being met before moving on.
Notice that none of these require raised voices, confrontation or public humiliation. The most effective behaviour managers are often remarkably calm. They do not negotiate expectations one day and enforce them the next. They simply and relentlessly calmly follow through.
Different context and different pupils
Of course, schools are not all the same, and neither are pupils. However, a misconception frequently held by beginning teachers is that understanding a pupil’s need means excusing behaviour entirely. While context matters, pupils still benefit from predictable routines, clear boundaries and consistent responses.
Beginning teachers rightly spend considerable time learning about SEND and the diverse needs of the pupils they teach. Some pupils may struggle with processing instructions, managing emotions, sustaining attention or understanding social cues, others may be experiencing significant challenges in their lives outside school. Effective teachers understand these needs and make appropriate adjustments (EEF, 2019). But adjustments are not the same as abandoning expectations.
Fairness does not always mean treating every pupil identically. Rather, it means providing support that enables pupils to meet expectations as successfully as possible. A pupil with additional needs may require instructions to be broken into smaller steps, visual prompts, additional processing time or support with organisation. Those accommodations are entirely appropriate. The expectation itself, however, remains clear.
This is why it is so important to engage fully with your school’s behaviour policy. The policy should not be viewed as something imposed upon you but as a framework that provides consistency across classrooms. As Rogers (2015) notes, effective behaviour management is grounded in the consistent application of agreed expectations, rights and responsibilities. When every adult responds in similar ways, pupils encounter fewer mixed messages and expectations become embedded much more quickly.
The importance of culture
Returning to the school drive, what struck me most was not the rule itself but the culture that had developed around it. Bennett (2017) argues that school culture is largely built through adults applying expectations consistently over time. When teachers consistently articulate expectations, persistently reinforce them and calmly insist upon them being met, pupils begin to internalise those routines. What initially requires constant reminders eventually becomes automatic.
Our primary headteacher’s consistent messaging, persistent reminders and insistence on compliance has gradually transformed a rule into a norm.
For beginning teachers, this can feel like hard work, particularly in the early months of training. There will be times when it feels easier to let something go. Yet the teachers who are most successful are rarely those with the most elaborate behaviour strategies. They are often those who are quietly and calmly clear, fair and consistent.
References and further reading
Bennett, T. (2017) Creating a Culture: How School Leaders Can Optimise Behaviour. Woodbridge: John Catt.
Cowley, S. (2024) Getting Your Class to Behave: The Must-Have Behaviour Management Bible. 6th edn. London: Bloomsbury Education.
Education Endowment Foundation (2019) Improving Behaviour in Schools: Guidance Report. London: EEF. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/behaviour [accessed 31.07.2026].
National Association of Special Schools. (2025, June 27). Consistency in unpredictable times: Why routine matters for learners with autism. https://www.nasschools.org.uk/consistency-in-unpredictable-times-why-routine-matters-for-learners-with-autism [accessed 31.07.2026].
Rogers, B. (2015) Classroom Behaviour: A Practical Guide to Effective Teaching, Behaviour Management and Colleague Support. 4th edn. London: Sage.
Becoming a History Teacher 